Letter to the Editor: Flag design should be put before the voters – Austin Daily Herald

Last week, a letter to the editor was printed in the paper talking about the horrible new flag that will be forced upon us.

I can’t agree more with that letter regarding the flag. It does, I agree, look like not only a third world country flag, but the Texas flag and I hope we Minnesotans don’t want to be associated with a state that is going backwards in too many human rights issues.

Not only is it a very ugly flag, it, as Houston County in southeastern Minnesota has brought to the foreground, is very costly for all counties who then will be forced to spend, unnecessarily, tax dollars on changing out not just the flag, but as Houston County stated, law enforcement emblems on cars, on uniforms, etc. and the added cost of disposing of a perfectly good and beautiful flag.

How is it that we, the populace, were not allowed to voice our opinion regarding this issue? I want to encourage Mower County to join Houston (and a second county that was not named in the news story) in fighting this wasteful tax payer dollars and insist we keep our old flag and stop spending where it is not needed. Surely we can do better, and better is keeping what has worked for decades and still can. 

If there is a need to change the flag, make it a voting option in the next election. Don’t make it a decision that a handful of people made for us Minnesotans.. Keep it a democratic option.

Roberta Mistretta

Austin, MN